SCENE: A thanks to the (super) heroes of my past

Those adamantium claws - an indestructible metal alloy - were the epitome of what it was to become a man for us boys.

Wolverine never showed emotions, and he seemed to always get the girl.

Growing up, we would all buy X-Men trading cards but never for the intention of trading. Instead, we would carefully gather our cards and go through and pick who we wanted to be that day.

Then, the idea of Marvel turning our favorite cartoon superhero mutants into a live action, silver screen movie was just a dream. In 2000, that dream forever changed when "X-Men" came out.

Since then, Marvel has continued the series, which opens Friday with the sixth installment "The Wolverine," which follows Wolverine, or Logan, through the events immediately after "X-Men: The Last Stand."

I'll be the first to admit I never cracked open the comic book, but the hit Fox Kids cartoon adaptation really hooked me as a kid. While I realize the history of X-Men goes further back than my own existence, I'm still just like a little kid when these movies come out.

Truthfully, I related most to Storm, perhaps because of her strong, independent nature as a woman - that characteristic reminds me most of my late mom.

But why do we love Wolverine - or why should we, rather?

It's simple, really.

He pushes forward, he will do anything and everything for the people in his life, and he never wanted to bother anyone else with his own problems.

I viewed him as a completely selfless, stubborn man who had some anger management issues to settle, but still, he solved problems and was extremely reliable.

Looking back, perhaps Wolverine even filled a certain void for boys and girls who may have been missing a father figure. Maybe it was nice for us to see a man who would do anything for those he cared about.

Or maybe it's not that difficult - maybe we just love Wolverine because he's an all-around tough guy.